Wendy Davis Campaign Attributes Loss To Ebola

The campaign for Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis is attributing its double-digit defeat to, at least in part, the Ebola outbreak in the United States. Davis was defeated by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott by 20 points Tuesday, the largest margin of victory in a gubentorial election since George W. Bush won in 1998.

Davis Communications Director Zac Petkanas told The Wall Street Journal Thursday that, “The losses that you are seeing in very blue states are simply amplified in states like Texas where there is already a structural advantage for Republicans.” The Journal added:

“Another challenge, he said, was that Texas is at the center of two issues, immigration and the Ebola scare, that helped drive Republicans to the polls.”

Though Texas is where the Ebola outbreak originated this year, her campaign tactics were largely to blame for her catastrophic defeat, according to Jon Terbush of The Week:

“Davis’ campaign grew out of her high-profile filibuster of a controversial abortion bill. Democrats had hoped to rally voters around Davis’ meteoric rise, though critics contended Davis was was a one-issue candidate, and her campaign quickly fizzled.”

Abbott also won 54 percent of the female vote, and carried about double the support Davis did with women who called themselves “politically independent,” CBS News reported.

Breitbart News notes that in spite of the Davis fanfare, she received fewer votes than Democratic Mayor Bill White, who ran against Rick Perry in 2010.